Simeone Foundation Museum

Within the walls of the newly opened Simeone Foundation Museum, you'll find 60 of the world's rarest and most famous race cars. Credit: Courtesy of the Simeone Foundation Museum

Description

Overview

Start your engines! Within the walls of the Simeone Foundation Museum — the only museum of its kind in North America — you’ll find 60 of the world’s rarest and most famous race cars.

And if luxury is your style, names like Alfa Romeo, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and Maserati are pretty tough to beat.

The collection begins with a race car from 1909 and continues to the mid-1970s. As you walk through the museum, you’ll see how technology has evolved in just seven decades of racing.

Like the collection of paintings at Philadelphia’s famed Barnes Foundation, the Simeone Foundation exhibition is a personal collection, driven by Dr. Fred Simeone’s singular vision of how the collection should be arranged. The central theme of the Simeone Foundation collection is “The Spirit of Competition.”

The cars are displayed in dioramas representing the famous race courses where the cars actually competed — such as Watkins Glen, Bonneville, Sebring, the Mille Miglia and Le Mans — so you can relive history while you peruse the collection.

Significant cars in the collection include the “Hippie” Porsche 917 (named for its psychedelic paint scheme), a 1958 Aston Martin DBR1 that Stirling Moss drove to victory, a Cobra Daytona Coupe that had been lost for 30 years until Simeone helped in its recovery, a Le Mans-winning Bugatti and a 1938 Alfa Romeo, winner of the Mille Miglia.

Demonstration Days

For an automotive experience you’ll never forget, visit the museum on one of its world-famous Demonstration Days.

Each Demo Day features cars from the collection, as well as guest cars from other collections, in a themed presentation and demonstration run. Using the expansive three-acre parking lot behind the museum, visitors can see, hear and smell history come to life through these magnificent machines.

Each Demonstration Day begins with a brief lecture on each car’s importance and its place in history. Immediately after the lecture, each car is demonstrated outdoors in the parking lot in a controlled manner, weather permitting. After the demonstration runs are complete, guests can see each car up close and take pictures.